Online Reporter
Gibson Nyikadzino
Zimpapers Politics Hub
Post-colonial Zimbabwe should be able to venture into the recovery of subaltern knowledges and ways of being that are useful to deconstruct epistemic systems which were imposed and emphasised by the colonial legacy.
Thus, to integrate or mainstream any of Zimbabwe’s sovereign legal, political, social and economic rights for interpretation using neo-colonial perspectives equals celebrating an ascribed poverty of thought, despite the ability of Zimbabweans to think for themselves or through their national leaders.
The unanimous approval of the Constitutional Amendment No.3 Bill of 2026 by the Cabinet last Tuesday generated widespread positive reactions and acceptance from broader quarters of society.
Where positive vibrations emerge, as usual, some known commercially driven critics have resurfaced to the political scene, being hand-held by external interests while disguising their empty bravado as defenders of constitutionalism.
Shamefully, their arguments have tended to generate more heat than light and the machinations to resist the amendments are cast on hallowed ground.
Their arguments and narratives are premised on the glorification and privileging of Eurocentric canons of Westminster models of procedural constitutionalism at the prejudice of a Global South episteme that seek to underscore “Zimbabweaness” as an unfinished trajectory of creation.
A decolonial reading
To think that the 2013 Constitution is a sacred text whose provisions must remain forever frozen in time and circumstances is to misunderstand and misinterpret the nature of constitutionalism as a “living organism”.
All constitutions require adaptation as the political communities they govern evolve in response to new and emerging challenges. What is apparently lacking from the camp’s argument is the grounding in decoloniality. Decoloniality is a project of self-emancipation and re-clamation project of the Global South.
It seeks to dismantle the colonial matrix of power, knowledge and being prevailing as modernity long after the coloniser has gone. In this regard, the Constitutional Amendments which include the transition to a seven-year presidential and parliamentary term, the election of the President via joint sitting of parliament and rationalisation of institutional mandates represent a decolonial epistemic disobedience, and a rapture form western models of thoughts.
The Bill is a natural decolonial revolutionary turn of Zimbabwe’s democratic journey moulded along Global South narratives of self determination not to please other people but rather to please, “we”.
By lengthening the political horizon, refining the Electoral College and streamlining institutions the State is building an architecture capable of delivering Vision 2030. The colonial project in Africa fragmented systems and replaced them with alien Westminster models.
So, it is not remising for Parliament to exercise the sovereign will of the people by selecting the President.
Curing structural inefficiencies
Far from being joyed with democratic practice, Amendment Number 3 is a pragmatic response to the lessons learned from implementation of the 2013 constitution. The Bill seeks to cure the structural inefficiencies, reduce the toxicity of perpetual electioneering and align Zimbabwe with established global practices that prioritise policy continuity and institutional clarity.
Therefore, the primary driver of the 2026 amendments is the consolidation of national stability given impetus by the National Development Strategy (NDS1) and the Vision 2030 trajectory evidenced by gross domestic product (GDP) growth from $20 billion to $52 billion in 2025, and the stabilisation of inflation to 4,1 percent.
The previous five year electoral cycles have been disruptive to long term planning and the constant state of election mode fosters political toxicity and stalls capital investment.
The oppositional elements want a scenario of economic stasis and investment bareness so as to justify their existence. As a global practice, “commerce flourishes where peace prevails” and therefore stability must not be disturbed by perpetual election cycles.
Dismantling the ‘constitutional coup’ narrative
Proponents of the constitutional coup narrative are doing so for financial gain rather than a commitment to the cause of defending the constitution. Their position is influenced by a western inclined mindset that western liberal constitutionalism represents a universal standard against which all constitutional developments must be measured.
The assumption is reflective of the Eurocentric episteme which makes the assumption that European political thought of constitutional proceduralism is more privileged than indigenous ways of knowing, creating and recreating societies through home grown constitutional amendments.
The spread of European constitutional models through colonialism was never merely a technical transfer of governance mechanisms but a profound epistemic imposition and the displacement of indigenous ways of knowing and thought.
When contemporary commentators condemn Zimbabwe’s amendments, they unconsciously reproduce this colonial gesture which asserts that political forms constitute the legitimate measure of constitutional adequacy.
In this regard, the characterisation of the amendments as a constitutional coup must be rejected with the contempt that it deserves. The characterisation reflects a gross discomfort with African solutions to African challenges. The 2013 Constitution provides mechanisms for its own evolution by providing space for robust public consultations and parliamentary debate that ensures that the process is driven by Zimbabweans, for Zimbabwe.
Answering the question of a Referendum
Concerning the argument by some critics that the amendments must go through referendum conflates constitutional amendments with constitutional replacements. The constitution provides for amendments in Section 328.
The 2013 Constitutional process was a constitutional replacement and not an amendment and hence a referendum was needed in which over 93 percent of the people voted “yes”. Having a referendum is thus not a rule authored on stone tablets for (all) amendments.
It can therefore be said with a dignified resolve that the Amendment Bill is being operationalised within the bounds of parliamentary sovereignty requiring two thirds majority in both houses.
Extending the term of office
By extending the term to seven years, Zimbabwe is not inventing any wheel but rather adopting indigenous inspired democratic models common in strong democracies.
It is a strategic move to insulate Zimbabwe’s development agenda from the disruptive shocks of frequent elections, a tactic often exploited by external forces to foster instability.
The practice is common in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe and the commonality of these regions is the Global South influences of resisting the universalism of western modernity as the only measure of constitutional democracy. In 2018 China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) successfully removed two term limits on the presidency consequently making President Xi Jinping to remain in power infinitely.
In Russia, the 2020 amendments reset President Vladimir Putin’s previous terms to default setting, permitting him to have two more terms.
Additionally, in 2013, Azerbaijan extended term limits from 5 years to 7 years and also in Bolivia, the Constitutional Court ruled that term limits were a violation of human rights.
In 2021 in El Salvador, the Supreme Court ruled that the President Nayib Bukele can run for the second term despite constitutional technicalities.
Thus, an extension allows an elected administration sufficient time to implement complex structural reforms, see infrastructure projects to completion and move beyond the short termism that hampers developing economies.
Election of the President
The proposal to move the election of the President from a direct popular vote to a vote by a joint sitting of parliament is progressive in that parliamentarians represent deliberative and representative democracy. There is a significant number of cases in Africa where the President is elected by parliament and these include South Africa, Angola, Botswana and Togo just to mention a few.
The development mitigates the risk of electoral violence, the winner takes all volatility and entrenches peace and stability necessary to spear-head societal growth through trade and investment.
This Bill also addresses functional overlaps that have hindered service delivery. By separating the delimitation of constituencies now assigned to the Zimbabwe Election Delimitation Commission (ZEDC) from the conduct of elections and transferring voter registration to the Registrar General, Government is eliminating institutional conflicts and leveraging the existing infrastructure of the civil registry to enhance efficiency and effectiveness.
Frequent short-term elections are not the only measure of accountability and good governance.
